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Bioenergy value chains

Bioenergy value chains: Whole systems analysis and optimisation

Most energy system studies of the UK indicate a strong role for bioenergy in the coming decades, especially if the UK is to meet its climate change mitigation ambitions. However, there is a need to understand how bioenergy systems can be implemented without negative sustainability-related impacts. There is therefore a need for multi-scale systems analyses to support the understanding of these inter-related issues and to support decision-making around land use, interactions with food production and acceleration of bioenergy technologies, while ensuring that a range of sustainability measures are quantified and that minimum standards can be guaranteed.

This project will build on partners’ bioenergy system models and combine them with other models, including the UK-TIMES model, ecosystem and resource models and international trade models. This toolkit will be used to identify robust and promising options for the UK, including land use, resources and technologies.

Person

Mr Andrew Welfle

Person

Dr Patricia Thornley

Patricia Thornley is a chartered physicist with over 20 years experience working in bioenergy in industry and academia. She was involved with engineering implementation of many of the UKs early bioenergy plants, but is now based at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. Patricia leads the 4.5 million EPSRC SUPERGEN Bioenergy Hub, which aims to bring together industry, academia and other stakeholders to focus on the research challenges associated with delivering sustainable bioenergy systems.